Monthly Archives: March 2015

Passive candidate:a currently employed individual who isn’t actively seeking another job, but would leave if the right opportunity arose.

Why do employers seek out these candidates?

According to Chris Garrie, Vice President of Recruitment for theOldcastle Recruiting Office in Rochester, “passive candidates are happy and successful in their current position. Generally, they tend to be more loyal and have a higher potential of being successful in a new role. They tend to be more selective, only pursuing opportunities that are of great interest. In contrast, active job seekers who are out of work need to get a job quickly.”

4 Tips For Passive Candidates:
1) Be receptive to recruiters
Unfortunately, there is a stigma when it comes to recruiters. If recruiters contact you, call or e-mail them back! You have nothing to lose. Even if the opening is not something you want, you never know what that recruiter will come across in the future. A good recruiter knows who they are looking for and won’t waste your time if there is not a mutual fit. Keep those lines of communication open!

2) Don’t assume your current job is going to last foreverThings can change in an instant, despite tenure or great work performance. Even the most stable and successful companies experience downturns. Better to be sought after while you’re employed, than to start a job search without a steady income or job to fall back on.

3) Make sure your resume and your LinkedIn profile are up-to-dateYou can be a great passive candidate, but recruiters won’t reach out if they can’t find you! Your profile and resume should contain the right job title and keywords for your industry AND showcasequantifiablequalifications. Don’t just list job duties. Demonstrate how you helped increase sales, saved money or improved efficiency levels for your current employer. Numbers, stats and percentages really help you stand out.

4) Don’t be overconfidentPassive candidates DO have an added advantage in the job search process, but it’s no guarantee you will get the job. In the end, it still boils down to a combination of skills, personality and company/cultural fit. Make the most of your passive status, but remember – there are many other passive candidates out there besides you!

In general, passive job seekers have an edge because they can always turn down an opportunity, whereas the unemployed job seeker may not have the same luxury. While this may not be fair, it is a reality for job seekers. If you have any inkling that things are not going well at work for you or your company, put those feelers out. You are in a far better position to find a better job and negotiate for a better salary when you’re a passive candidate.

1) Make It A Group EffortHalf the fun of participating in March Madness is the pre-game prep. Then, there is the trash talk during the tournament, the hits and the misses and, ultimately, the gloating over who won. Filling out your own bracket and not sharing in the activity takes away a lot of the fun. As a job seeker, are you participating with other job seekers? Or, are you isolating yourself? Don’t! It helps to have people to commiserate with, share strategies, and celebrate successes.

2) It’s All About Strategy
Everyone has their own plan for completing their brackets. Whether you take it super seriously and put a lot of effort into research or just pick based on teams you’re loyal to, you have consciously chosen a game plan. The same thing holds true for your job search. You need to have a plan and schedule in mind. Where do you want your job search to be a month from now? What about two months from now? Write your ultimate goal down and the action steps you plan to take to get there. You can’t wing a job search. It’s going to take effort and a schedule to get where you need to go.

3) You’re In It For The Long HaulMarch Madness is not over in one game, and neither is your job search after one interview. There are going to be ups and downs. It’s very rare to land the position of your dreams in the first week. The NCAA Tournament takes time, and so will your job search. Add even more time to that plan if you’re a career changer, entry level job seeker or have been unemployed for awhile.

4) Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One BasketIn your bracket, you have many games and possible outcomes. Ultimately, it all comes down to one team winning. In your job search, that one team is the job you want. You will have to get through many hurdles to get there. These obstacles/events include numerous interviews with one company, but more likely will be multiple interviews with various companies. Be open to the possibility of there being more than one ideal job out there for you!

5) Get Your Head In The GameA coach encourages and inspires players to do their best, work hard, visualize success and never ever give up. Sometimes, we have to be our own coach. While it is easy to get discouraged in a job search, you can’t let the emotions overwhelm you. Teams that lose in the NCAA Tournament don’t just stop playing basketball. They go over what they did correctly, what mistakes they made and then make a plan to learn from this season to move forward next season. You may not be a college basketball player, but you do have the power to take charge of your own path to career success!

This post, by our Social Media Specialist (Recruiting Office), originally appeared on LinkedIn. Please share it if you found it to be helpful!

Oldcastle is North America’s largest manufacturer of building products and materials. With more than 2,000 locations throughout North America, we are in constant pursuit of the next generation of successful decision makers, leaders and problem solvers. Learn more about joining the Oldcastle team HERE.

There can be many reasons, besides performance, that your job could be in jeopardy. Even exemplary employees are not immune. Declining company sales, changes in management, strategy, or business philosophy can leave you at risk. It’s double trouble if you have let your commitment level at work slip. Whatever the case may be, don’t be blindsided. Always keep your eyes open to clues that you may need to amp up that job search.

Be wary if you experience any of these things:1) You’re left out of meetings
If you are no longer invited to meetings that you used to attend, or find yourself not being invited to as many meetings as before, this is cause for concern. You can ask your boss or manager why you are no longer required to attend, but make sure your tone/manner is not defensive or panicked. If you are still invited to meetings, but not called upon or asked to contribute, this can be another red flag.2) Your formerly-friendly boss/managers and colleagues are now distant
If coworkers or management are now aloof or indifferent towards you, this can be a warning sign. Try to initiate conversations and keep the dialogue open.3) You’re not kept in the loop on current/upcoming projects
Being shut out of important initiatives is a big clue that something is up. Attempt to become involved again, but don’t be pushy about it.4) Things just seem “off”
Listen to your intuition. Do you get a funny feeling in the pit of your stomach that things are not as they should be? 9 times out of 10, that gut feeling is correct. Don’t do anything drastic (like quitting), but start to formulate a plan going forward. In the long term, this may involve leaving, but remember – you also need a plan for the short term. How are you going to handle the day-to-day differences you are experiencing?5) Business has been down
If your organization or industry is facing tough times, you better get your game face on and put a plan into action.Don’t be in denial. Always be proactive and prepared. Start working on your resume, update your LinkedIn profile (keep your activity settings private for now in order to keep your search in stealth mode) and reconnect with former colleagues and other people in your network.

Have you ever experienced any of these warning signs? What did you do when you felt the “writing was on the wall”? We would love to hear about it!

This post, by our Social Media Specialist (Recruiting Office), originally appeared on LinkedIn. Please share it if you found it to be helpful!

Oldcastle is North America’s largest manufacturer of building products and materials. With more than 2,000 locations throughout North America, we are in constant pursuit of the next generation of successful decision makers, leaders and problem solvers. Learn more about joining the Oldcastle team HERE.

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What do you do in your position? I work with Oldcastle’s Architectural Products Group, our division that produces building materials like paver blocks, dry mix concrete products, mulch, stone and composite decking. I help our AERT, Retail and Lawn & Garden teams find the talented folks who make, ship and sell our items every day.

Where is your job located? I’m at 1200 Scottsville Road in beautiful, sunny Rochester, NY! (all sarcasm – although Rochester does have some good aspects, they don’t come out until May).

What do you like about working here? I came from working for a small, non-profit company assisting people with their job search, to a huge, corporate entity. I didn’t know what to expect from the people I worked with, but the office mates that I have are awesome.

Why do you think CRH is a good place to work? The sheer size of the company makes it so exciting to work here. The opportunities that you have and the things that you can accomplish make it so amazing. I love that I can come into work, have an idea for getting new candidates for a job, and the organization fosters that idea and helps make it a reality.

How would your co-workers describe you? What would they say about me to my face or behind my back? Hopefully, in BOTH cases, they would say that I’m a good guy who likes to have fun at his job but takes it seriously, makes a few jokes to make the day go by, and is a good person to bounce new ideas off of and collaborate with.

Just for fun, we want to know – what was your first job ever? My first “real” job ever was working at Wal-Mart in the Hardware department. Did I know the difference between interior or exterior paint when I was 17? No, but they deemed me fit to work there because I was big and I could lift stuff for the customers.

Do you have any funny or interesting work stories to share?I bartended for a nice hotel on the lake in Canandaigua, NY, when I was paying my way through college. One time, I was wrapping everything up for the night and, out of nowhere, Lynyrd Skynyrd (the band, not the dude) came in to the bar. I didn’t know what to expect. I thought things were going to get totally rowdy and out of control, but they were the nicest group of guys and gals ever. I talked to the late Billy Powell (the pianist) and one of the backup singers for hours. The band went through A LOT of Jack Daniels that night, but they gave me so much in tips it was well worth it. The next day, they told me to come to their concert, for free, in Syracuse. They left me 4 VIP tickets at will call, and I had another awesome night with my friends and the band. The rest of that story can’t be told via this medium, sorry.

If you would like, tell us about your family. My Mom, who is retired, lives about 45 minutes away in little Newark, New York. I also have a sister who lives outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is the best special education teacher in the universe.

What are your hobbies outside of work? I enjoy playing and watching sports, specifically basketball. I’m a huge video game nerd, so I’m always playing whatever the next big game for the Playstation is. I enjoy spending time with my friends.

We are North America’s largest manufacturer of building products and materials. In North America we adopted our parent company name to become CRH Americas, Inc. But, the strength, quality and legacy of our Oldcastle brand remains in our product groups, Oldcastle Infrastructure, Oldcastle APG and Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope®, as well as our Oldcastle Building Solutions team.

Time to get back in the game! We can learn a lot from athletes getting ready for the upcoming season. Whether you’re actively seeking a new job or just want to move forward in your career, follow this advice to hit that home run.

1)Better weather means easier opportunities to network. We get it. During the long, dark days of Winter, it can be easy to hibernate. Who wants to go to a function when it’s freezing out? This Winter was an especially frigid one for many parts of the country. Take advantage of the longer days and better weather to get out there. Where to start? Check online, your newspaper, local alumni group, business alliance, meetup.com and LinkedIn for professional events you can attend. Start small if you have to. Make a goal of attending at least one new event per month.

2) Recommit to your team. Finding a job should not be a solitary play. Just as one player or pitch won’t win the game, isolating yourself and thinking you can go it alone will only hinder your search. Involve your family, friends and former colleagues in your search.

3) Practice makes perfect. Professional players make the game look effortless, but we all know it’s not. Your first round of resumes may not get a hit. Don’t give up! Have you tweaked your resume to fit each position? Are you applying for jobs that are a fit? Show your resume to a trusted friend, enlist the help of your college placement office or seek professional resume writing assistance. You’re in this for the long run. Be patient and remember that the job search takes time and has its ups & downs.

4) Create the right mindset. You may be on the bench for now, but remember – this is only temporary. Not every baseball player is in the game all the time.

5) Listen to the coach. Just as a coach leads his team, you have to lead your career direction, progression and job search. You are your own coach. Create a schedule for your search and stick to it. For instance, commit to a certain number of hours a day for reaching out to contacts, applying to jobs and following up. Think of it as your own training schedule. The job search is its own game, with its own set of rules.

6) Analyze your plays. Is there something you could have done differently? Maybe you were thrown off by a tricky interview question you weren’t expecting. No worries! Research answers to common interview questions at monster.com or careerbuilder.com. Professional players don’t just go to their locker room after a game and call it a day. Post game is when the real learning and plans for improvement take place.

Oldcastle is North America’s largest manufacturer of building products and materials. With more than 2,000 locations throughout North America, we are in constant pursuit of the next generation of successful decision makers, leaders and problem solvers. Learn more about joining the Oldcastle team HERE.

Have you started your tax return yet? Time is ticking away. April 15th will be here before you know it! Whether you are getting a refund or owe, the actual process of completing a tax return has lessons to offer in terms of the job search process.

To increase your odds of job search success:1) Start to act with a sense of urgency
When you know that you’re getting a refund, you’re apt to file right away. If you owe? Not so much. Think of the job you want to get as that coveted tax refund. It’s not a good idea to procrastinate on sending in that resume or returning that call to a recruiter. When you see a job posted online, don’t hesitate or wait ’til the weekend to apply. Go for it NOW. You’re already competing with dozens, if not hundreds, of other applicants. Time is definitely of the essence.
2) Don’t be afraid to ask for helpYou can do your taxes online yourself, just as you can do your job search yourself. However, the job search is not meant to exist in a bubble. If you had a new tax situation and were stumped, you would reach out for professional help. The job search is no different. Whether it’s your local librarian, college career planning office or local networking group, get ideas and expert advice from those in the know.

3) Stay current on the codeTax codes can change, and so can job search trends. When you’re filing taxes online, you get a prompt alerting you to new changes since the previous year. Unfortunately, there is no prompt in the job search process. It’s up to you to educate yourself on what the latest job search trends and accepted norms are. For instance, many jobs require you to apply via an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). If you don’t know the best way to maximize key words in the resume you submit to these systems, you can be at a huge disadvantage. Visit sites like Monster and Career Builder to keep up-to-date on the latest trends. For advice on navigating the ATS, this post can help.

4) Be forward-focused
There are tax moves you can make to put yourself in a better position financially the following year. The same thing can be said for the job search. Envision yourself in the job you want to get. What does it look and feel like? What moves do you need to make right now to make the goal of getting that job happen?

5) Keep track of and claim those job search expenses (if you can)Did you know that if you’re unemployed and looking for a job, you can deduct job hunting expenses? Check this article out for details.

P.S. Looking for tax day freebies? Many local and national chains offer free food and other perks. What better way to treat yourself! Show me the FREEBIES!

P.S. Please share this article if you found it to be helpful!

This post, by our Social Media Specialist (Recruiting Office), originally appeared on LinkedIn. Please share it if you found it to be helpful!

Oldcastle is North America’s largest manufacturer of building products and materials. With more than 2,000 locations throughout North America, we are in constant pursuit of the next generation of successful decision makers, leaders and problem solvers. Learn more about joining the Oldcastle team HERE.

Meta

Imagine a company capable of providing the modern building materials needed to build our homes, schools, communities, even the bridges and highways to get you there. We are CRH Americas, North America’s largest manufacturer of building products.
In North America we adopted our parent company name to become CRH Americas, Inc. But, the strength, quality and legacy of our Oldcastle brand remains in our product groups, Oldcastle Precast, Oldcastle Architectural and Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope®, as well as our Oldcastle Building Solutions team.
At CRH Americas, we do more than manufacture products. We partner with our customers, design-build firms, construction professionals and owners to simplify the way we build and provide end to end solutions through our vertically integrated channels. We have the largest manufacturing footprint, the greatest product breadth, and lead many of the categories we work in. If you are looking to simplify the construction process, CRH Americas can help you get there.
CRH Americas is the North American arm of CRH, plc, a leading global diversified building materials group with over 85,000 employees in 32 countries around the world.